Card holder for freight cars



Dec. 16, 1941. T. A. DRAPER CARD HOLDER FOR FREIGHT CARS Filed May 22, 1940- H a s SUM/H4415 i Dec. 16, 1941 2,266,626

' ularly to that type of of said compartments.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE 2,288,826 CARD HOLDER FOR FREIGHT CABS Talbert A. Draper, V; Application May 22, 1940, Serial No. 338,662

(CL Ali-17) i 9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in card-holders for railway equipment and, particcard-holder adapted for use an railway cars for holding variousindiciaequipped cards.

The primary object of the Another object is to provide a card-holder of the present type wherein the interior of a case is invention is to provide a card-holder wherein a plurality of cards divided into front and rear compartments. More 1 especially, the invention contemplates a'holder wherein the interior of a casing is divided into front and rear compartments by a partition at tached to one wall 01 the casing with said partition yieldingly engaging against the opposite wall ing beyond both the upper and lower edges of the front to form openings ll, it at the top and bottom of the holder for the deposit of cards from either end of the holder. At the lower ends of sides H, the blank is turned to form a'bottom II whichhfor purposes later described, is cut away as at ll. FIangesISImay also be provided on said bottom for'additionsl screws I2.

of the casing to releasably retain cards in one i A still further object is to provide a cardholder having its interior divided by a partition member so arranged with respect to the front wall of the casing that a car seal band can be readily applied to said partition and wall.

Still another object is to provide a card-holder having a sight opening therein with the front wall of the casing at the upper-edge of said opening: formed with a card-receiving recess which, in conjunction with guides on the face of the front wall, will retain cards of a certain type on the front of the casing.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain details of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will hereinafter be more fully described and the novel features thereof particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a card-holder embodying the present improvements;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the combined hood and partition member removed from the holder casing.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional of Fig. l.

The present card-holder consists essentially of a casing front, a rear wall and a partition member which divides the space between said front and rear wall into front and rear card compartments. The casing front H] is preferably made up from a blank which is bent along the side edges of said front to form the sides H of the holder and at the bases of said sides there are view on the line 4-4 As previously indicated, the interior of the holder is divided into two card compartments, as by a partition member 2| extending lengthwise of the space between the front and rear wall. This partition, which is of a resilient material, also extends diagonally across said space, preferably being secured at its upper end, against the rear wall, with its free end yieldingly engaging against the inner surface of the front. As best seen'in Fig. 2, this divides the holder into front and rear compartments 2i, 22 and, as will be apparent, cards can be inserted downwardly through opening I! into compartment 2| or upwardly through opening l6 into compartment 22.

The resiliency of partition member 20 is such v that its free end is held in contact against front It, with suillcient pressure to securely retain cards in front compartment 2|. To free and remove cards from this compartment 2|, it is only necessary to slightly flex the partition and, for this purpose, the partition may be provided with an extension or finger 23 exposed in opening l6. Preferably, front It is provided with a plurality of drain openings 24 adjacent its lower edge. Also, a slot 25 is formed near the lower edge of the front adapted to register with a similar slot 26 in the partition for reception of a car seal band (not shown) Cards in rear compartment 22' are retained therein by the bottom I1.

The upper entrance or opening l5 should, of course, be protectedagainst entry of rainwater and particles of foreign matter which, in the present instance, is accomplished by a hood 21 located at the upper ends of the sides I I, with its forward edge preferably projecting outwardly beyond the front of the holder. For purposes of economy in production, as well as to facilitate assembly of the present holder, the partition its length, is of a width a little less than the interior of the holder, but its upper portion is made somewhat wider, as indicated at 20*, thus forming lateral extensions which may be clamped between the sides or flanges of the front casing member and the rear wall l4. Thus, the hood 2'! and partition member 20 may be made in one piece and the partition can readily be'assembled merely by placing the hood over the upper end of the front casing with the partition member at the rear and then securing these two assembled members against the surface of the rear wall.

In accordance with usual practice in cardholders of the present type, the front I is provided with a sight opening 28 which may be of grid-like formation, whereby data on cards in the front compartment 2| may be readily inspected. In the present instance, this grid-like opening is formed in the lower portion of the casing front, so that there is provided between the sight opening and the upper entrance opening IS a panel-like section against which cards may be secured at the exterior of the front. For instance, the metal of the blank from which the casing front is formed may be bent reversely outwardly at the upper edge of sight opening 28 to form a recess 29 in which the edge of a card can be received, and at a point between the sight opening and the upper entrance opening [5 retaining guides 30 are struck up from the casing front. Thus, a card may be slipped downwardly under the guides 30 until its lower edge rests in the recess 29 formed by the reversely bent portions of the casing front.

With this form of card holder, the several types of cards or tags which must accompany a railway freight car can be readily and safely accommodated. Way bills, bearing their usual information, can be deposited in the front compartment 2 I; condition cards, known as defect cards, shop cards and'inspection cards, can be deposited in the rear compartment 22; and switching tags, which are applied at all yards or terminals where the car is handled by a switchman and which serve only a temporary use, in that a different tag must be applied at each yarn, can be securely carried 0n the front of the casing beneath the retaining guides 30. Due to the location of the switching tags, each tag can be readily removed for replacement by another tag when the car arrives at each terminal during transit to its ultimate destination. The way bills, if not sealed in the front compartment, can be readily removed by depressing or flexing the partition member and, of course, these way bills can always be readily inspected through the sight opening 28. The condition cards will be retained in the rear compartment 22 by the bottom ll of the holder but, as previously described, a portion of the bottom is removed, as at IS, in order to facilitate grasping these condition cards when it is desired to remove them from the compartment.

The present holder can be applied or secured in place by various types of fastening elements and is of very simple construction, especially where the car side is to form the rear wall of the holder. In cases such as this, it is only necessary to provide the casing front with the hood and partition member assembled therewith and, as pointed out, these two assembled elements can be mounted directly against the exterior surface of the car side wall.

It will be seen that the present holder will accommodate all three cards required in the movement or transportation of a freight car from its 7 original point of departure to its destination. For instance, cards carrying data regarding the condition of the car, known as defect cards, shop cards and inspection cards can be deposited in one of the interior compartments; way-bills can be placed in the second interior compartment; and switching tags can be secured on the front of the container where the information regarding the necessary switching movements will be fully exposed. As a new switching card is required as the car enters and passes through successive yards, the exterior position of the switching tags is very convenient in the sense that obsolete cards can be quickly removed when desired.

What I claim is:

1. In a card-holder of the class described, a casing comprising front and rear walls with a sight opening in the front wall, a partition within said casing dividing the interior thereof into front and rear card-receiving compartments, there being an opening in the upper end of the casing for deposit of cards in one compartment and a second opening in the lower end of said casing through which cards may be deposited in and removed from the other compartment, said partition engaging against one of said casing walls for retaining cards in oneof said compartments, said partition being yieldingly positioned against said wall whereby it can be moved away from the wall to release a card held thereby, and means for retaining cards in the other compartment, the cards in both compartments being removable from the holder through the opening at the lower end of the casing.

' 2. In a card-holder of the class described, a casing comprising front and rear walls with a sight opening in the front wall, a partition within said casing dividing the interior thereof into front and rear card-receiving compartments, there being an opening in the upper end of the casing for deposit of cards in one compartment and a second opening in the lower end of said casing for deposit of cards in the other compartment, said partition yieldingly engaging against one of said casing walls for retaining cards in one of said compartments, said partition being movable away from said wall to release cards held thereby and a ledge formed at the bottom of said casing for retaining cards in the other compartment, the cards in both compartments being removable from the holder through the opening at the lower end of the casing.

3. In a card-holder of the class described, a casing comprising front and rear walls, and a partition member secured to one wall and extending lengthwise of the casing into contact with the opposite wall with which it yieldingly engages to divide the interior of said casing into front and rear compartments, said casing having openings at its upper and lower ends for deposit of cards into said compartments, the cards in both compartments being removable from the holder through the opening at the lower end of said casing.

4. In a card-holder of the class describedya casing comprising front and rear walls, and a partition member secured to one wall and extending lengthwise of the casing into contact with the opposite wall with which it yieldlngly engages to divide the interior of said casing into front and rear compartments, said casing having openings at its opposite ends for deposit of cards into said compartments, said cards being retained in one compartment by the yielding contact of the partition with the casing wall, whereby said card can be released for removal by movement of the partition away from said casing wall and a ledge for retaining cards in the other compartment.

5. In a card-holder of the class described, a casing comprising front and rear walls, a partition secured to the rear Wall adjacent the upper end thereof and extending downwardly into yielding engagement with the front wall whereby the interior of the casing is divided into front and rear compartments, said front wall having an opening therein below the lower end of said partition for deposit of cards in the rear compartment and said casing having an opening at its upper end for deposit of'cards in the front compartment, and means for retaining cards in said rear compartment, the cards in both compartments being removable from the holder through the lower opening in said casing.

6. In a card-holder of the class described, a casing comprising front and rear walls, a partition secured to the rear wall adjacent the upper 'end thereof and extending downwardly into yielding engagement with the front wall whereby the interior of the casing is divided into front and rear compartments, said front wall and partition having slots inregistry with each other for application of a seal band, said front wall having an opening therein below the lower end of said partition for deposit of cards in the rear compartment and said casing having an opening at its upper end for deposit of cards in the front compartment, and means for retaining cards in said rear compartment.

7. In a card-holder of the class described, a casing comprising a front wall and a rear wall with entry openings in the upper and lower portions of said front wall, a hood at said upper end for saidupper opening, and an extension on said hood dividing the interior of said casing into front and rear compartments.

8. In a card-holder of the class described, a casing comprising a front wall and a rear wall with entry openings in the upper and lower portions of said front wall, a hood at said upper end for said upper opening, and an extension on said hood dividing the interior of said casing into front and rear compartments, said extension engaging against one of said walls for retaining cards in one compartment, and means below the lower entry opening for retaining cards in the other compartment.

9. In a card-holder of the class described, a front casing, a rear wall, there being upper and lower entry openings in the front casing, a partition member clamped between the front casing and rear wall dividing the space between said front casing and rear wall into two card-receiving compartments, said partition member having a free end engaging against the front casing to retain cards in one of said compartments, and means for retaining cards in the other-of said compartments.

TALBERT A. DRAPER. 

